Don’t let the heat trick you. How to prepare for El Niño

While some people consider the Greater Los Angeles area safe from natural disasters like tsunamis, tornadoes or flooding, reports have shown residents are unprepared when El Niño storms approach. 

El Niño is a natural phenomenon that, every few years, causes the tropical Pacific to warm above average, according to the University of Michigan (UM). 

Under normal conditions, trade winds blow along the equator from east to west, pushing warm water from South America toward Australia. But when the trade winds weaken, warm water spreads eastward, back toward South America, kicking off an El Niño event, UM indicates. 

This doesn’t necessarily mean this year will be severe, but it could manifest itself in a wetter, stormier winter. There is not a specific date for when this could happen, but chances are higher during storm season from Oct. 15 to April 15.

“That's just historically we've seen greater chances of our storms, our rainier storms hitting during that time,” said Elizabeth Vazquez, spokesperson with Los Angeles County Public Works. 

The University of Michigan’s study on El Niño storms revealed these have become nearly 40% stronger in the last 40 years than they were in the pre-industrial era.

“We don’t see a time in the past where El Niños have been as strong as today, and we show that the strength of El Niño changes in parallel with the warming of global temperature,” said lead author Julia Cole, professor and chair of the UM Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. “Our findings tell us that the big El Niño events of the last 40 years are not normal in the context of the last thousand years.”

Be prepared ahead of time

The LA County Public Works is preparing residents so they can be ready in case of an emergency and not be caught off guard. 

Vazquez said the most important and easiest part is to understand your neighborhood and sign up for the emergency alerts at Ready LA County.

Residents are also recommended to prepare their homes, clear their gutters–if their residence has any–make sure nearby drains are cleared of leaves and debris to prevent local flooding and have an emergency plan. 

“Talk to your family. Know about your evacuation routes. Look at your supplies to have available for a couple of days, and think about your kids, pets, older adults and anyone that has mobility needs,” she said.

Vazquez said people shouldn’t trust that rain won’t happen because it’s sunny and hot. In fact, this is the best time to prepare and understand the risks. 

She said in L.A. County, residents can call the Public Works 24/7 dispatch at 1-800-675-4357 in any kind of storm event.

“If there's like a downed tree or a downed power line, or they see some kind of localized flooding in one of the drains, they can call our 24/7 dispatch,” she said.

LA County’s recommendations to be prepared

• Know your risk. Check out FEMA’s Flood Hazard Map service center. Ready.lacounty.gov/rain.

• Sign up for alerts. Register for Alert LA County and NOAA Weather Radio. Ready.lacounty.gov and alert.lacounty.gov

• Consider flood insurance. Standard homeowners’ insurance does not cover flood damage – that’s a separate policy. Only less than 2% of California homes are insured against floods.

• Prepare for mudflows. Depending on where you live, you may need to prepare for mud and debris flows. Before storms arrive, place sandbags, board up windows and direct flows away from structures rather than damming them. 

• Use the Public Works Sandbags Dashboard to find the nearest fire station or beach location providing sandbags.

• Stay informed.  Continue monitoring trusted sources and emergency alerts throughout the storm.